#RadicalChildcare
The Movement
#RadicalChildcare is an initiative to inspire, imagine, explore and invest into the future for children and families in Birmingham.
Back in April 2015, Amy Martin of F A M A L A M shared her vision for a childcare utopia founded on interrogating and subverting existing models of childcare to fit her needs as a nomadic worker and mum in the 21st Century. At the same time here at Impact Hub Birmingham we were thinking about why we were disillusioned with the fast venture business approach to solving complex problems, and these narratives collided to plant the seeds of a now growing #RadicalChildcare movement.
Early in 2016, we developed a proposal for this two-year place-based system change initiative which explains our new methodology, bringing together 10 years of practical experience in movement building around purpose-driven entrepreneurship, developing accelerator and social investment programmes, and systems thinking about city-regions. Through 6-9 months of development work, we will be refining our methodology through a number of activities, with a view to launch the initiative at full scale in 2018. We believe that by unlocking the power of all of us, we can generate deep impact and we are open to everyone to join us on this journey.
Children as citizens and changemakers
In Birmingham, radical change remains particularly crucial given that a third of children are living in poverty.
Children and families at the forefront
We believe that children and families should be at the forefront of the #RadicalChildcare movement. We are already seeing huge benefits in designing an intergenerational learning community, a place where families can co-construct safer, healthier, more resilient communities together and continue to welcome children and families to join the community whether as part of our Children's membership or other programmes and events.
Parent Perspectives
Laura
“Childcare feels reflective of a wider societal idea that everyone should be in 9-5 jobs, so you give your child to someone…
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Laura
“Childcare feels reflective of a wider societal idea that everyone should be in 9-5 jobs, so you give your child to someone else 9-5.”
Laura is the director of a company in start-up phase, meaning she is always switched on. When she had her first child it was a shock that her world had to change, but she says ideas often come to her at night when the kids have gone to bed. Her working patterns are non-traditional, meaning childcare solutions are largely dependant on close family relationships. She feels lucky to have the support of her parents and siblings, but doesn’t always feels its fair to call on them simply because she chooses to work differently.
Her use of childcare for her two children varies from week to week. She has teamed up to do a nanny share 2 days a week, meaning she pays half the cost professionally compared to if she was using this service alone. She also pays for activity clubs such as swimming, football and gymnastics, and sends son to a private school.
She describes childcare as “a necessary evil to patch up something called work life balance.” Blending work and family life by taking her baby to work is a positive for her, and she considers her identity to be a meld of professional and family. There are pressures in the work environment but she still prefers to be together with her children.
For her great childcare looks like something enriching and fun, involving art, music and physical activity. Nursery choices for her children were based on people, and it is important to her that full attention is given to the child with not too much form filling.
Ben
“I’d like to have more time with my son when he is full of energy, rather than when he’s winding down in the evenings a…
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Ben
“I’d like to have more time with my son when he is full of energy, rather than when he’s winding down in the evenings and at weekends.”
Ben has a 3-year-old son, Arthur, for whom his wife is the primary carer. She works part time as a teacher so they rely on nursery provision when she is working. Their nursery was the only option in their locality, but it creates a pleasant environment and backyard in which the children can play. Ben would prefer it if the people there were more genuine, but is keen Arthur attends in preparation for starting school.
He likes solutions that “kill two birds with one stone” - i.e. Arthur’s swimming class came for free with his gym membership. Ben wishes childcare vouchers were more flexible, discounted care only available using these in the afternoons.
He outlines that they try to cram a lot into a weekend and make it really good family time, but this can also be stressful to plan and keep to a routine. They enjoy going to the family farm which acts a “win-win”, spending time with relatives whilst Arthur also gets to learn on the farm. They also see friends made through their NCT group who still meet up, with the benefit of kids around the same age who can play together.
He described a utopia centred on flexibility to work at home and have more time with Arthur during the day. Time commuting on the train is where he gets free time to read books, watch videos, and switch from home to work mode and vice versa. He’d like to get home earlier and be able to use his evenings better, with work currently creeping in.
- February 2016
Daniella
“I’ve achieved a lot in my professional life, whereas family life is a new challenge for me.” Daniella i…
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Daniella
“I’ve achieved a lot in my professional life, whereas family life is a new challenge for me.”
Daniella is a businesswoman, running her own events management business. This type of work means she is used to being out and about, making herself visible at events and building networks. The biggest change since having her daughter is being in the house whilst her husband, Akin, goes to work. She is using this time to study for an MBA.
They are currently looking for early years childcare for their 6-month-old daughter and struggling to weigh up different provisions. It is important to Daniella that her daughter engages with people who are different to her in order to learn from them, but also to see people like her represented in the staff. One of their concerns is about how their daughter will grow up in a world where there are things that are being taught that they don’t agree with personally, a viewpoint in opposition to their own Christian morals.
Living in Birmingham for 10 years, the couple have some close friends to call on if they need a break, but building trust outside that cohort remains a challenge. Based in a city away from their family, they wonder how to build a community in a place where they don’t know that many people. Daniella currently takes her daughter to a music class once a week, but finds professional relationships easier to build than personal ones.
When it comes to learning, she would love her daughter to learn French, to gain bilingual skills and develop a broad world view, sign language, to develop communication skills, and to join a swimming group, for survival skills and to have fun!
- February 2016
Tim
“Before I had kids I was told, ‘your life won’t change much, but your wife’s life will’, and that actually kind of …
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Tim
“Before I had kids I was told, ‘your life won’t change much, but your wife’s life will’, and that actually kind of rings true.”
Tim is Portfolio & QA Manager at Service Birmingham and has three children. His wife is a midwife manager working shifts. She wanted to go back to work so as not to lose her skills in this area, and sought to further herself within her job. The shift working required for this role can present challenges to the family as working patterns are changeable, meaning they don’t always know how their week will pan out.
When choosing childcare, trust is a massive factor for Tim’s family, as well as the provision being safe, clean, developmental and educational. A family recommendation was the reason for their choice of nursery, and they felt they had better communication about what was going on in the nursery because a family member worked there.
It is also important that childcare providers demonstrate values in line with his own by imparting the importance of honesty, hard work, and being able to hold relationships with other people. They used a nursery to allow them to be around other kids, but child development is an important factor to Tim now they’re getting older. The nursery fees they paid before his children started school were the same as the wife’s salary.
The family’s biggest challenge is time. Tim says getting the kids out of the door is tough in the mornings because, like him, they aren’t morning people. Using after school activity clubs such as drama, basketball and car building gives him a bit more time at work before picking the kids up from school. School holidays and bank holidays are a pain.
His childcare utopia would involve working within closer proximity to home and working more flexibly, but equally he likes to separate work and home and keep things in ‘different boxes’. He would also love to be ‘switched on’ when his kids are switched on, as he often comes in when they are already tired out from the day.
- February 2016
Indi
“Developing my sons’ understanding of the culture and communities of which they are a part is important, as well as them …
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Indi
“Developing my sons’ understanding of the culture and communities of which they are a part is important, as well as them meeting people from different walks of life.”
Indi is the main carer for her children and spends a lot of time with them. Her husband is very supportive, often working from home so they can be together as a family. Her two sons have different characteristics and interests: the eldest Anard is bubbly and outgoing, enjoys being outdoors (gardening, cycling along the canal) and is fascinated by animals, whereas younger Jeevan sleeps a lot, is less intense and needs less attention. Indi considers these personality traits closely when making childcare choices.
Developing her sons’ understanding of the culture and communities of which they are a part is important to Indi, including visiting the gurdwara with their grandparents. This means her sons benefit from learning about their heritage and are exposed to people from different walks of life. Their ‘village’ is tightknit, utilising regular childcare support from family members.
Despite this rich family provision, she also sees the benefits of the structural development and quality of care that nursery can offer. Due to the pacing of their week they need this to be flexible - for example the boys can be tired following busy weekends spent with family and friends, so they will get more out of the nursery environment midweek rather than on a Monday.
Indi is very active and in downtime she feels like she should be doing something. Having previously worked in a corporate environment, she feels lucky with her current childcare situation alongside flexible working at Impact Hub Birmingham.
- February 2016
Josh
“People are driven to want something more; they move on to other areas, better houses, meaning life-long community relation…
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Josh
“People are driven to want something more; they move on to other areas, better houses, meaning life-long community relationships are no longer being built. Finding the time to develop trust is difficult.”
For Josh, childcare is a means of allowing him to go to work without having to worry about the kids. It is important to him that childcare serves as an enjoyable part of the day centred on creativity, interaction and learning, whether this is at a nursery or through care from family members. He is concerned about the affordability of childcare, but believes his kids having a positive, enriching experience is paramount. He also values outdoor activities, and would like his kids to participate in sports, have fun and show their potential.
Striking a balance between time working and time with his children is a challenge for him, sometimes working when he is with the kids and often working late at night. This creates a difficult routine and the sensation of living in a rushed environment.
His childcare utopia looks like a connected neighbourhood. This means children would be in a safe environment but not “in a bubble”, because when he was growing up lots of different people were around and he wants that variety of influence for his children. This neighbourhood doesn’t exist for him currently because has to travel to visit his wider network of family and friends, and he feels there isn’t enough time to meet new people and establish trust with them, getting to know his neighbours, for example.
Involvement in childcare services such as the nursery he uses is important to him, and he feels this responsibility is all too often taken away from parents due to limited flexibility to engage. Even distribution of support would also have improved the experience of raising his daughter, as the provision wasn’t there between 1-2 years.
- February 2016